Winter Wonderland at Royal Sonesta Hotel

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Tuesday evening, the Royal Sonesta Hotel officially kicks off the holiday season with its 8th annual Lighting of the Balconies. Two young patients from Children’s Hospital will flip the switch. The facade looks miraculous from the outside, but inside, crews have been working tirelessly to transform the hotel into a winter wonderland. News With A Twist Reporter Deepak Saini takes you behind the scenes.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas inside the Royal Sonesta Hotel.

The hotel’s President and General Manager says, “Its a very popular place. It’s one of those places where you must stop in if you’re in New Orleans to see the Christmas decorations.”

Crews have been working around the clock since Thanksgiving to turn the hotel lobby into a Christmas paradise.

While it’s business as usual inside the Royal Sonesta, you can’t help but be mesmerized, especially when you walk through this arcade of trees.

Groos says, “Our guests just love it. From now until the end of December, you’ll be seeing guests just wandering through the building, taking pictures.”

There are 25 Christmas trees throughout the lobby, ranging from 9 to 1 2 feet. They’re Norfolk Pines brought in from Michigan. More than 500 Teddy Bears adorn the trees.

Reporter: “You don’t want to worry about people walking away with these bears?” Groos: “These bears are like our pets. See they’re furry, nice and beautiful and they entertain a lot of children. So we just put a little extra in here to make sure they don’t walk away on us or get distracted and wander off in some other direction. That they’ll be with us the entire time so all the children can enjoy them.”

At night, the Royal Sonesta Hotel will be a sight to see. Over 10,000 holiday lights will illuminate the wrought-iron balconies.

Groos says, “We flip that switch and vrrrrrooom it starts.”

If it’s anything like what you see on the inside, Christmas at the Royal Sonesta will be spectacular.